Tufts University student from Turkey, Rumeysa Ozturk, who was arrested by immigration agents while walking along a street in a Boston suburb, talks to reporters on arriving back in Boston, Saturday, May 10, 2025, a day after she was released from a Louisiana immigration detention center on the orders of a federal judge. (Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via AP)2025-05-11T01:40:20Z BOSTON (AP) A Tufts University student from Turkey returned to Boston on Saturday, one day after being released from a Louisiana immigration detention center where she was held for over six weeks.Upon arrival at Logan Airport, Rumeysa Ozturk told reporters she was excited to get back to her studies during what has been a very difficult period. In the last 45 days, I lost both my freedom and also my education during a crucial time for my doctoral studies, she said. But I am so grateful for all the support, kindness and care.A federal judge ordered Ozturks release Friday pending a final decision on her claim that she was illegally detained following an op-ed she co-wrote last year criticizing her universitys response to Israel and the war in Gaza.Ozturk said she will continue her case in the courts, adding, I have faith in the American system of justice. She was joined by her lawyers and two of Massachusetts Democratic members of Congress, Sen. Edward Markey and Rep. Ayanna Pressley.Today is a tremendous day as we welcome you back, Rumeysa, Markey said. You have made millions and millions of people across our country so proud of the way you have fought. Appearing by video for her bail hearing the previous day, Ozturk, 30, detailed her growing asthma attacks in detention and her desire to finish her doctorate focusing on children and social media. U.S. District Judge William Sessions in Vermont ruled that she was to be released on her own recognizance with no travel restrictions. She was not a danger to the community or a flight risk, he said, while noting that he might amend the release order to consider any conditions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in consultation with her lawyers.Sessions said the government offered no evidence for why Ozturk was arrested other than the op-ed.The U.S. Justice Departments Executive Office for Immigration Review did not respond to an email message seeking comment Friday afternoon. Ozturk was one of four students who wrote the opinion piece last year in campus newspaper The Tufts Daily. It criticized the universitys response to student activists demanding that Tufts acknowledge the Palestinian genocide, disclose its investments and divest from companies with ties to Israel.On March 25 immigration officials surrounded Ozturk in Massachusetts and took her into custody. She was then driven to New Hampshire and Vermont and flown to a detention center in Basile, Louisiana. Her student visa had been revoked several days earlier, but she was not informed of that, her lawyers said.Ozturks lawyers first filed a petition on her behalf in Massachusetts, but they did not know where she was and were unable to speak to her until more than 24 hours after she was detained. A Massachusetts judge later transferred the case to Vermont. A State Department memo said Ozturks visa was revoked following an assessment that her actions may undermine U.S. foreign policy by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and indicating support for a designated terrorist organization including co-authoring an op-ed that found common cause with an organization that was later temporarily banned from campus. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in March, without providing evidence, that investigations found that Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist group. This week a federal appeals court upheld Sessions order to bring Ozturk back to New England for hearings to determine whether her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process, were violated, as her lawyers argue. Immigration proceedings for Ozturk, initiated in Louisiana, are being conducted separately in that state and Ozturk can participate remotely, the court said.___Rush reported from Portland, Oregon. Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, and Michael Casey in Boston contributed. CLAIRE RUSH Rush is an Associated Press reporter covering Oregon state government and general news in the Pacific Northwest more broadly. twitter mailto

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2025-05-10T20:13:44Z QUITO, Ecuador (AP) Five fishermen who spent 55 days adrift at sea arrived Saturday at a port in the Galapagos Islands after being rescued by a tuna boat, the Ecuadorian navy said on X.The three Peruvians and two Colombians had been missing since mid-March and were found on May 7 by an Ecuadorian boat called Aldo.The fishermen had reported damage to the boats alternator two days after setting sail from Pucusana Bay, to the south of Perus capital Lima, the navy said in a separate post on Friday.The failure caused communication and navigation tools to malfunction, Ecuadorian navy Frigate Capt. Maria Fares told The Associated Press, adding that they had no power on the boat.They had no starter, lights and everything that a battery generates, she said. To survive, they had to take rusted water out of the engine (and) when a fish passed by, they caught it and parboiled it to eat. Fares added that they also drank rain and sea water to survive. The men are in stable condition and the navy said it is coordinating with local and foreign authorities to ensure their safe return to their respective countries. Earlier this year, another Peruvian fisherman, 61-year-old Mximo Napa, spent 95 days at sea alone. He was also rescued by an Ecuadorian vessel and returned to Lima in mid-March to be reunited with his family.____Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

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Panama's former President Ricardo Martinelli waves to supporters during a campaign rally, in Panama City, Feb. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Agustin Herrera, File)2025-05-11T03:33:19Z PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli left the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City where he had sought refuge more than a year ago after the courts upheld a money laundering sentence against him and headed to Colombia where he has received political asylum, the government said late Saturday.Panamas foreign ministry said in a statement that Colombian President Gustavo Petro sent Panamanian President Jos Ral Mulino a formal note saying that he had granted Martinelli asylum and that Panama had granted the former president safe passage to Colombia.The Republic of Colombia is a State that has historically recognized with the utmost respect, compliance, and promotion the institutions of International Law, including the asylum system within the Inter-American system, the statement said.Martinelli, 73, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering in July 2023 in connection with the purchase of a publishing group. Following the confirmation of that sentence, the former president sought refuge in the Nicaraguan diplomatic mission in Panama after President Daniel Ortegas government granted him asylum. He had remained inside the embassy for more than a year. Martinelli is a businessman and supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014, a period of rapid economic growth driven by the construction of major projects such as the first metro in Central America and the expansion of the interoceanic canal. But his government was tainted by accusations of bribery and cost overruns. He was sanctioned by the United States for corruption in January 2023. Martinelli maintains that his prosecution was politically motivated as he sought to run for a second term of office. In 2023, he won his partys nomination to seek the presidency again. However, he was convicted of money laundering, and after the Supreme Court denied his appeal, he was ineligible to run.Ultimately, Martinelli supported his running mate, current President Mulino.Nicaragua granted Martinelli political asylum in February 2024. Panama had refused to grant Nicaragua permission to move Martinelli to Nicaragua.The Colombian government had not previously commented on the matter.

This image released by Focus Features shows Benicio Del Toro in a scene from "The Phoenician Scheme." (TPS Productions/Focus Features via AP)2025-05-11T04:06:57Z Nowhere is the border-crossing nature of cinema more evident than the Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off Tuesday in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trumps vow to enact tariffs on international films.Cannes, where filmmakers, sales agents and journalists gather from around the world, is the Olympics of the big screen, with its own golden prize, the Palme dOr, to give out at the end. Filmmakers come from nearly every corner of the globe to showcase their films while dealmakers work through the night to sell finished films or packaged productions to various territories.You release a film into that Colosseum-like situation, says Brazilian director Kleber Mendona Filho, whos returning to Cannes with The Secret Agent, a thriller set during Brazils dictatorship. Youve got to really prepare for the whole experience because its quite intense not very far from the feeling of approaching a roller coaster as you go up the steps at the Palais. Perhaps as much as ever, all eyes in the movie world will be on the 78th Cannes Film Festival when it gets underway this week. Thats not just because of the long list of anticipated films set to premiere at the Cote dAzur festival (including films from Spike Lee, Wes Anderson, Lynne Ramsay, Richard Linklater and Ari Aster) and the extensive coterie of stars set to walk the fabled red carpet (Jennifer Lawrence, Denzel Washington, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart among them). As the movies, and the Oscar race, have grown more international, the global launchpad of Cannes has become only more central to the larger film ecosystem even with the ongoing absence of Netflix. Recent editions of Cannes have produced a string of Academy Awards contenders, including this years best-picture winner, Anora. At the same time, geopolitics course through Cannes unlike any other festival. The Cannes red carpet can be as much a platform for political protest as it is for glamour. This years festival will include a dissident Iranian filmmaker (Jafar Panahi), a Ukrainian filmmaker (Sergei Loznitsa) and the first Nigerian production in the official selection (Akinola Davies Jr.'s My Fathers Shadow). This image released by A24 shows Joaquin Phoenix, left, and Pedro Pascal in a scene from Eddington. (A24 via AP) This image released by A24 shows Joaquin Phoenix, left, and Pedro Pascal in a scene from Eddington. (A24 via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The many roads to CannesIn the run-up to the festival, three filmmakers from different corners of the world spoke about their roads to the Cannes competition lineup. For many directors, reaching the Cannes competition this year, thats 22 movies vying for the Palme dOr is career milestone. Its meaningful for me. Its meaningful for the country, says Oliver Hermanus, speaking from outside Cape Town. Hermanus, the South African filmmaker of Moffie and Living, is in competition for the first time with The History of Sound, a period love story starring Paul Mescal and Josh OConnor. I was born here and made movies here for most of my career, so I still see myself as a South African filmmaker whos interested in the South African perspective on things and South African representation, adds Hermanus. The competition is something Ive always wanted to be part of. Chie Hayakawa, the Japanese filmmaker of 2022s Plan 75, is also in competition for the first time. She first came to Cannes with a student film that she never expected to make it into the festivals shorts program. This week, shell debut Renoir, a semiautobiographical tale about an 11-year-old girl with a father who has terminal cancer.It gives me a huge encouragement and keeps me motivated to making films, Hayakawa said from Tokyo. I dont feel like Im going to compete with other films. But it meaningful. I know how prestigious and meaningful it is to be in competition.Film is global and easily crosses the borders of any country or culture, she adds. Thats what special about Cannes. Will tariffs topple Cannes?Cannes global approach is part of what makes this year more complicated than usual. Trump sent shock waves through Hollywood and the international film community when he announced on May 4 that all movies produced in Foreign Lands will face 100% tariffs.The White House has said no final decisions have been made. Options being explored include federal incentives for U.S.-based productions, rather than tariffs. But the announcement was a reminder of how international tensions can destabilize even the oldest cultural institutions.Filho first attended Cannes as a critic. Once he began making movies, the allure of the festival remained. To him, participating in Cannes means joining a timeline of cinema history. The Secret Agent marks his third time in competition.I have always felt that there was a seriousness that I appreciated, Filho says. For example, I will be attending a 2 a.m. test for sound and picture. This is done with scientist types who will take care of the projection and how everything will go.As to the threat of tariffs? He shrugs. I have been trained by Brazil, because we had a very strange and weird historic moment under (former president Jair) Bolsonaro, Filho said. I used my training to say: This is probably some bad idea or misunderstanding that will be corrected in the coming days or weeks. Even for leaders like them, Bolsonaro and Trump, it makes no sense whatsoever.Everything to lose, everything to gain The Cannes Film Festival originally emerged in the World War II years, when the rise of fascism in Italy led to the founding of an alternative to the then-government controlled Venice Film Festival. In the time since, Cannes resolute commitment to cinema has made it a beacon to filmmakers. Countless directors have come to make their name.This year is no different, though some of the first-time filmmakers at Cannes are already particularly well-known. Stewart (The Chronology of Water), Scarlett Johansson (Eleanor the Great) and Harris Dickinson (Urchin) will all be unveiling their feature directorial debuts in Cannes Un Certain Regard sidebar section. This image released by Paramount Pictures and Skydance shows Tom Cruise in a scene from "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning." (Paramount Pictures and Skydance via AP) This image released by Paramount Pictures and Skydance shows Tom Cruise in a scene from "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning." (Paramount Pictures and Skydance via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Edgar Ramirez, right, kisses fellow actor Robert De Niro while promoting a film at Cannes in 2016. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File) Edgar Ramirez, right, kisses fellow actor Robert De Niro while promoting a film at Cannes in 2016. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Many Cannes veterans will be back, too, including Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning), Robert De Niro (whos to receive an honorary Palme dOr 49 years after Taxi Driver premiered in Cannes) and Quentin Tarantino (to pay tribute to low-budget Western director George Sherman).Hermanus first came to Cannes with his 2011 film Beauty. He went naively optimistic before realizing, he laughs, that a Cannes selection is a potential invitation to a beheading.Even going now with The History of Sound, Im trying to be realistic about the fact that its a gladiatorial arena. Its everything to lose and everything to gain, says Hermanus. When Cannes selected us, it came down to me and Paul going, Oh God, here comes the real stress. Will we survive the intensity of Cannes? which we both agreed is the reason to go.___For more coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival, JAKE COYLE Coyle has been a film critic and covered the movie industry for The Associated Press since 2013. He is based in New York City. twitter mailto

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An employee handles the mail-in ballots , as Albania is heading to the polls on Sunday with Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks a fourth term, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)2025-05-11T05:05:40Z TIRANA, Albania (AP) Prime Minister Edi Rama is seeking a fourth term as Albanias prime minister in a general election on Sunday, after taking on his political nemesis in a boisterous campaign dominated by the countrys uphill effort to join the European Union.Ramas Socialist Party says it can deliver EU membership in five years, sticking to an ambitious pledge while battling conservative opponents with public recriminations and competing promises of pay hikes.Opening up the election to voters abroad for the first time has added to the volatility, along with the appearance of new parties, a shift in campaigning to social media and a recent TikTok ban. And Ramas opponents have hired a heavy hitter from the United States to steer their campaign. The country of 2.8 million people, with 3.7 million eligible voters including the diaspora casting ballots for the first time ever by mail, will elect 140 lawmakers to four-year terms, choosing from 2,046 candidates representing 11 political groupings, including three coalitions.Voting opened at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and runs until 7 p.m. (1700 GMT). Black and blue baseball caps Rama, 60, secured the start of EU membership negotiations last October and is relying heavily on that momentum. His campaign also highlighted achievements in infrastructure and justice reform.Under the party slogan, Albania 2030 in EU, Only with Edi and SP, Rama insists that full EU accession is possible by 2030 with annual funding of 1 billion euros ($1.13 billion) upon joining.EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is pressing Albania to continue reforms particularly in governance and anti-corruption efforts to stay on track for EU membership.Commentators are also skeptical. It is an electoral pledge which is a citizens desire, independent analyst Aleksander Cipa says, describing Ramas timeline as not realizable. Ramas main challenger is Sali Berisha, a hoarse-voiced and energetic 80-year-old survivor of Albanias tumultuous politics. Berisha, a former president and prime minister, has led the conservative Democratic Party of Albania since its founding in 1990, when student protests marked the end of communist isolation.He argues that Albania still isnt ready for EU membership. Berishas leadership fraught with party feuds and corruption allegations and messaging remain contentious. He started the campaign borrowing from U.S. President Donald Trump with the slogan Make Albania Great Again, but eventually settled on Grandiose Albania. Albanias Democratic Party hired Chris LaCivita, the veteran Republican political consultant and architect of Trumps 2024 presidential campaign.Berisha often appears at rallies wearing a blue baseball cap marked with a No. 1, the partys position on the ballot. In response, Rama sports a black cap emblazoned with the Socialist Partys No. 5. Economic and tourism pledgesEconomic concerns have been central to the campaign.The Socialists say they will accelerate a tourism boom, from 10 million arrivals in 2024 to 30 million by 2030, diversifying destinations by expanding infrastructure projects.The Democrats argue that the governments dismal performance has driven more than 1 million Albanians to leave the county over the past decade.Both parties have made similar promises: a minimum pension of 200 euros ($225), an average monthly salary of 1,200 euros ($1,365), and a minimum wage of 500 euros ($570) about 20% or higher than current levels. Berisha also advocates a 10% flat tax, value-added tax refunds for basic food items, a consumer card loaded with government money for retirees to buy basic foodstuffs at discounted prices and other benefits.The pledges have blurred ideological lines and politics dominated by two parties has encouraged the creation of alternatives. Several newer parties two from the center-right and two left-wing ones could emerge as kingmakers, if no major party wins a majority.But analyst Lutfi Dervishi considers that scenario unlikely.Its a campaign without debate and results without surprises, he said. Elections wont shake up the current scene neither the system nor the main actors. Corruption and justiceDespite Albanias significant improvement in Transparency Internationals corruption index rising from 116th in 2013 to 80th in the ranking in 2024 corruption remains the countrys Achilles heel and a stumbling block for European integration. Sweeping judicial reforms launched in 2016 with support from the EU and U.S. led to investigations and prosecutions of senior officials. Several former ministers, mayors and high-ranking officials have been jailed, while others face ongoing investigations.Despite promises of cleaner governance, both major parties are fielding candidates facing corruption allegations.Berisha himself has been charged with corruption and is awaiting trial. In 2021, the U.S. government barred him and his close relatives from entering the country over alleged corruption. The United Kingdom followed suit in 2022. Last October, Ilir Meta, a former president and now head of the left-wing Freedom Party of Albania thats allied with Berisha, was arrested on corruption allegations. Hes running for a parliamentary seat in Tirana.The capitals mayor, Erion Veliaj, a senior Socialist official, was detained in February amid a corruption investigation involving public funds. Hes not running for reelection. All the accused have denied wrongdoing.While Ramas Socialists take credit for the reformed judiciary, Berisha has vowed to dissolve it, describing it as a tool of the Rama governments selective justice.TikTok and the swamp owlSocial media has become a primary vehicle for campaigning. Rama hosts daily Facebook livestreams to engage with voters. Berisha has followed suit, though less frequently.The government has imposed a 12-month ban on TikTok, citing concerns over incitement and online bullying. Opposition parties condemned the move as censorship.A code of conduct introduced by the Albanian ombudsman to encourage ethical campaigning fell flat as political discourse grew increasingly toxic. Rama described Berisha as a swamp owl a metaphor for graft while Berisha branded Rama as a chief gangster.Albanias past elections often have been marred by irregularities, including vote-buying and ballot manipulation. More than 570 international observers will be monitoring this years parliamentary election, highlighting the international communitys stake in ensuring a credible and transparent process.

Right-wing candidate Karol Nawrocki, left, takes part in a patriotic demonstration celebrating 1,000 years since the coronation of the first Polish king, Saturday, April 12, 2025 ,in Warsaw, Poland. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)2025-05-11T05:07:41Z WARSAW, Poland (AP) In the early months of 2022, as Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, millions of Ukrainians mostly women and children fled to Poland, where they were met with an extraordinary outpouring of sympathy. Ukrainian flags appeared in windows. Polish volunteers rushed to the border with food, diapers, SIM cards. Some opened their homes to complete strangers.In the face of calamity, Poland became not just a logistical lifeline for Ukraine, but a paragon of human solidarity.Three years later, Poland remains one of Ukraines staunchest allies a hub for Western arms deliveries and a vocal defender of Kyivs interests. But at home, the tone toward Ukrainians has shifted.Nearly a million Ukrainian refugees remain in Poland, with roughly 2 million Ukrainian citizens overall in the nation of 38 million people. Many of them arrived before the war as economic migrants. As Poland heads into a presidential election on May 18, with a second round expected June 1, the growing fatigue with helping Ukrainians has become so noticeable that some of the candidates have judged that they can win more votes by vowing less help for Ukrainians. The mood of Polish society has changed towards Ukrainian war refugees, said Piotr Dugosz, a professor of sociology at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow who has carried out research on the views toward Ukrainians across central Europe. He cited a survey by the Public Opinion Research Center in Warsaw that showed support for helping Ukrainians falling from 94% at the start of Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022 to 57% in December 2024. Many other studies confirm the change in mood, he said. At the same time, it should be remembered that helping refugees after the outbreak of the war was a natural moral reflex, that one should help a neighbor in need. All the more so because Poles remember the crimes committed by Russians against Poles during and after two world wars. Candidates adjust to anti-Ukrainian sentimentAmong those to transform the shift in mood into campaign politics is conservative candidate Karol Nawrocki, a historian and head of the Institute of National Remembrance who is the Law and Justice partys chosen candidate and one of the frontrunners.Law and Justice, still in government in 2022, led the humanitarian response to the crisis along with President Andrzej Duda, a conservative backed by the party who traveled to Kyiv during the war.As Nawrocki seeks to succeed Duda, he is showing ambivalence toward Ukrainians, stressing the need to defend Polish interests above all else.Duda and Law and Justice have long admired Donald Trump, and Nawrocki who was welcomed at the White House by Trump on May 1 has at times used language that echoes the American presidents.Ukraine does not treat us as a partner. It behaves in an indecent and ungrateful way in many respects, Nawrocki said in January. After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys tense visit to the Oval Office in February, Nawrocki declared the Ukrainian leader needed to rethink his behavior toward allies. Last month Nawrocki vowed that if he wins, he will introduce legislation that would prioritize Polish citizens over Ukrainians when there are waits for medical services or schools.Polish citizens must have priority, Nawrocki said in a campaign video. Poland first. Poles first.Further to the right, candidate Sawomir Mentzen and his Confederation party have gone beyond that. He has blamed Ukrainians for overburdened schools, inflated housing prices, and accused them of taking advantage of Polish generosity.At an April 30 rally of a far-right candidate, Grzegorz Braun, his supporters climbed up to a balcony on city hall in Biaa Podlaska and pulled down a Ukrainian flag that had been hanging there since February 2022 as an expression of solidarity.The political center is adjusting too.Rafa Trzaskowski, the liberal-minded mayor of Warsaw from Prime Minister Donald Tusks centrist party who welcomed Ukrainians to his city in 2022, proposed in January that only Ukrainian refugees who work, live and pay taxes in Poland be granted access to the popular 800+ child benefit 800 zlotys ($210) per month per child. The requirements were already tightened recently, and some refugee advocates described it as a concession to far-right narratives. Ukrainians say theyre helping Poland, tooUkrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar disputes claims that Ukrainians are taking more than they give. About 35,000 receive support without working, he said, but what they receive is only a fraction of what Ukrainians contribute in taxes. He noted that some 70,000 Ukrainian-run businesses now operate in Poland.Ukrainians are helping the Polish economy to develop, he told The Associated Press. Magorzata Bonikowska, president of the Center for International Relations, said that it is normal for tensions to emerge when large numbers of people from different cultures suddenly live and work side-by-side. And Poles, she added, often find Ukrainians pushy or entitled, and that rubs them the wrong way. But there is still very stable support for helping Ukraine. We truly believe Ukrainians are Europeans, they are like our brothers. Rafal Pankowski, a sociologist who heads Never Again, a group that fights xenophobia, has tracked anti-Ukrainian sentiment from the start of the full-scale war. At first, the far right was very isolated in its anti-Ukrainian opinions, he said.What is happening this year is harvest time for all those anti-Ukrainian propagandists, and now it goes beyond the far right, he said.Kateryna, a 33-year-old Ukrainian who has lived in Poland for years, has seen the change up close. In 2022, strangers often greeted her with sympathetic looks and with the words Slava Ukraini (Glory to Ukraine).But then last fall, a man on a tram cursed her for reading a Ukrainian book. This spring, outside a social security office, another man shoved her and screamed, No one wants you here.Such incidents remain rare Poles and Ukrainians co-existing on friendly terms is still the norm. But she feels such incidents were unthinkable three years ago.She asked that her last name not be used because she works as a manager in a company that would require to have clearance to be identified publicly.Her parents remain in Ukraine, and her brother serves in the army. Like many in the region, she believes Ukrainian resistance is keeping Poland safe by holding the Russians at bay. Tensions now, she worries, only serve Moscow. We must stick together, she said.

2025-05-11T04:22:35Z COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) A passenger bus skidded off a cliff in Sri Lankas tea-growing hill country on Sunday, killing eight people and injuring more than 30 others.The accident occurred in the early hours of Sunday near the town of Kotmale, about 140 kilometers (86 miles) east of Colombo, the capital, in a mountainous area of central Sri Lanka, police said. The driver was injured and among those admitted to the hospital for treatment, police added.The bus was operated by a state-run travel company, police said.Deadly bus accidents are common in Sri Lanka, especially in the mountainous regions, often due to reckless driving and poorly maintained and narrow roads.

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Far from the missile strikes and drone combat that grabbed the worlds attention, ordinary Kashmiris suffer the heaviest toll of India and Pakistans confrontation.

A group of American rabbis perform during Passover celebrations at the synagogue in Paramaribo, Suriname, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Oscar Keur)2025-05-11T06:01:30Z AMSTERDAM (AP) The fire that caused significant damage in April to historic buildings in Surinames capital city was not the only threat facing the nearby Neveh Shalom Synagogue.As firefighters battled to save the historic city center of Paramaribo a UNESCO World Heritage site the synagogues volunteers were busy scanning thousands of archival documents in an effort to preserve the history of the thousands of Jews who have called the Surinamese capital home since the 1700s. The blaze was contained before reaching the synagogue, but at the mercy of other threats, including the tropical climate, insects and time, it was a reminder of how fragile the 100,000 historic documents, kept on pages stored in filing cabinets for decades, were and how vital the preservation project was.The operation to digitize the birth records, land sales and correspondence has been overseen by Dutch academic Rosa de Jong, who had used the archive as part of a PhD study on how Jewish refugees fled the horrors of World War II to the Caribbean, including the tiny South American country of Suriname. I felt that my work comes with an obligation to preserve the past that Im building my career on, De Jong told The Associated Press. When she finished her academic research, at the University of Amsterdam, last year, De Jong saw an opportunity to return to Suriname and safeguard the files that had been crucial to her work. She raised the financing for cameras, hard drives and travel expenses and returned to Suriname with the aim of making high-quality scans of the hundreds of folios held by the synagogue. The result is more than 600 gigabytes of data stored on multiple hard drives. One will be donated to the National Archives of Suriname to be included in their digital collections.The archived documents show how Suriname was a hub of Jewish life for the Americas. The British who colonized the region gave Jews political and religious autonomy when they first moved to Suriname in 1639 to manage tobacco and sugar cane plantations. When the Dutch took control of the colony, they continued this practice. When Jewish people were forced out of other places in the Americas, they often fled to Suriname.On Christmas Eve in 1942, more than 100 Dutch Jewish refugees, fleeing the horrors of the Holocaust, arrived in Paramaribo.Liny Pajgin Yollick, then 18, was among them. In an oral history project for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, she described the relief she felt when she arrived in Suriname to the sound of a familiar song. I remember it was morning and they played Dutch National Anthem for us when we arrived, and everybody was crying. We were very emotional when we heard that because many of us never thought we would ever hear it again, she said.When the Netherlands was freed from Nazi German occupation three years later, Teroenga, the magazine published for the Jewish congregations in Suriname, ran with the headline Bevrijding (Liberation). The archive at Neveh Shalom has a copy of every edition of Teroenga. Key to De Jongs preservation project has been 78-year-old Lilly Duijm, who was responsible for the archives folders of documents for more than two decades.Born in Suriname, when she was 14 she moved to the Netherlands where she eventually became a nurse. But she returned to her homeland in 1973, just before the colony got its independence, and her four children grew up in Paramaribo.More than anyone, she knows how precious the archive was.I told the congregation, as long as the archive is still here, I will not die. Even if I live to be 200 years old, she tearfully told AP. This is keeping the history of my people. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

FILE -- Pope John Paul II appears at a window of his rooms of the 10th floor of Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital, Sunday, March 13, 2005, where he was hospitalized, for the traditional blessing at the end of the Sunday's Angelus prayer. (AP Photo/Rudi Blaha, File)2025-05-11T05:13:00Z VATICAN CITY (AP) For thousands of Catholic pilgrims in Rome, its the unmissable Vatican appointment: the midday Sunday blessing the pope delivers from a window overlooking St. Peters Square.The new pope, Leo XIV, is scheduled to deliver his first such prayer on Sunday from the loggia where he first appeared in public after being elected three days ago.Here is a look at the history, meaning and memorable moments from Sunday blessings of popes past. The history of the popes Sunday blessingIn 1954, which he had declared a special year of veneration to the Virgin Mary, Pope Pius XII started reciting in public a traditional Catholic midday prayer to her. He first delivered it from the popes summer residence, just outside Rome at Castel Gandolfo.Back at the Vatican, he kept it up from a window facing St. Peters Square at the Apostolic Palace, the 16th century building where the papal apartments are. Pope Francis broke with tradition by living at a Vatican guest house instead but still maintained the Sunday prayer tradition from the palace.Its become a chance for ordinary faithful to see the pope relatively up close. Especially since the papacy of St. John Paul II from 1978 to 2005 popes have added short messages touching on different topics of the day. When a pope misses the weekly occasion as Francis did earlier this year during his hospitalization it makes global news.The Vatican announced Leo would deliver his first such prayer on Sunday, which is coincidentally Mothers Day in Italy and the United States, among other countries. The prayer to MaryThe Angelus is the short prayer to Mary that many Catholics recite daily.Often prayed before Mass, but traditionally accompanied by the tolling of bells at dawn, midday and early evening, it references the moment when the Gospels say the Archangel Gabriel told Mary she would become the mother of God, and she accepted.Angelus is Latin for angel, and the prayers first verse is The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. The faithful then answer, And she conceived of the Holy Spirit, followed by a Hail Mary and a few more verses and prayers. This annunciation scene is so pivotal in Christian dogma that its been represented by some of the most celebrated painters for centuries. Some artists have also portrayed the faithful reciting the Angelus, a practice that is believed to have started in the Middle Ages.During Eastertime the current liturgical season, spanning 50 days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost the prayer is substituted with another devotion to Mary, the Regina Coeli (also spelled Caeli, Latin for Queen of Heaven) that encourages rejoicing in Christs resurrection.Memorable Sunday prayer momentsLooking frail, St. John Paul II appeared at his hospital window for his last Angelus prayer less than three weeks before he died in 2005. He didnt speak, only blessing the crowd with an olive branch. An archbishop delivered his message, with the trademark exhortation to young people not to be afraid to follow Jesus.Tens of thousands of people packed St. Peters Square when Pope Benedict XVI gave his final Sunday prayer in 2013 before becoming the first pope in 600 years to resign. They cheered him on as he reassured the faithful he wasnt abandoning the church, but rather turning to prayer because of his advancing age. At his first Angelus in 2013, Francis introduced a key motif of his papacy: mercy. A bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just, he told the crowd.More recently, Francis used the Sunday blessings to call for peace, especially in Ukraine and Gaza. But he also would close his blessings with the down-to-earth phrase, Have a good lunch.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-05-11T06:25:10Z DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 10 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.Two of the strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents. Other strikes killed a child and a man riding a bicycle, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies from all the strikes.The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths in the 19-month-old war because the militants are embedded in densely populated areas. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the latest strikes.Israel has sealed Gaza off from all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelter, for over 10 weeks in what it says is a pressure tactic aimed at forcing Hamas to release hostages. Israel resumed its offensive in March, shattering a ceasefire that had facilitated the release of more than 30 hostages. Aid groups say food supplies are running low and hunger is widespread.U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration has voiced full support for Israels actions, is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week in a regional tour that will not include Israel. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israels offensive has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants or civilians. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory and displaced some 90% of its population of around 2 million.___Magdy reported from Cairo.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war SAMY MAGDY Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses. twitter facebook mailto

From left, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz make a call to U.S. President Donald Trump from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)2025-05-11T08:32:26Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday welcomed Russias offer for direct peace talks, but insisted there must be a full, temporary ceasefire in place before negotiations can start.Zelenskyy, writing on X, called Russian President Vladimir Putins counter-offer to start talks without a ceasefire a positive sign, and said that the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time.He added, however, that the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.Meanwhile, Russia resumed mass drone attacks in Ukraine early on Sunday, after its self-declared 3-day pause expired.Russia launched 108 attack drones and simulator drones from six different directions, Ukraines Air Force said on Sunday. It said 60 drones were shot down and another 41 simulator drones failed to reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures. The Ukrainian president appeared to insist on his proposal to start a 30-day unconditional ceasefire on Monday. There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire full, lasting, and reliable starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet, Zelenskyy said. Putin in remarks to the media overnight effectively rejected that ceasefire offer and proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday instead without preconditions. He said a ceasefire might be agreed on during the negotiations. Putins counteroffer came after leaders from four major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Moscow if it does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that they offered on Saturday in a strong show of unity with Kyiv.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments aired by Russian state TV on Sunday, called Putins proposal very serious and said it confirms a real intention for find a peaceful solution.The goals of the talks are clear: to eliminate the root causes of the conflict. And also to ensure the interests of the Russian Federation, Peskov said.

People from Christian and Muslim communities hold a demonstration to show their support with Pakistan Army, a day after the ceasefire between Indian and Pakistan, in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaduary)2025-05-11T09:09:08Z ISLAMABAD (AP) A ceasefire to end the conflict between India and Pakistan was shaken by overnight border fighting in the disputed Kashmir region.People on both sides of the Line of Control, which divides the territory, reported heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops. The fighting subsided by Sunday morning.The two countries agreed to a truce a day earlier after talks to defuse the most serious military confrontation between them in decades following a gun massacre of tourists that India blames on Pakistan, which denies the charge.As part of the ceasefire, the nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to immediately stop all firing and military action on land, in the air and at sea. They accused each other of repeatedly violating the deal just hours later. Drones were spotted Saturday night over Indian-controlled Kashmir and the western state of Gujarat according to Indian officials. In the Poonch area of Indian-controlled Kashmir, people said the intense shelling from the past few days had traumatized them.Most people ran as shells were being fired, said college student Sosan Zehra who returned home Sunday. It was completely chaotic. In Pakistan-controlled Kashmirs Neelum Valley, which is three kilometers from the Line of Control, people said there were exchanges of fire and heavy shelling after the ceasefire began. Stay up to date with similar stories by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. Resident Mohammad Zahid said: We were happy about the announcement but, once again, the situation feels uncertain. U.S. President Donald Trump was the first to post about the deal, announcing it on his Truth Social platform. Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed the news shortly after.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday with top government and military officials.India, unlike Pakistan, has not said anything about Trump or the U.S. since the deal was announced. Nor has India acknowledged anyone beyond its military contact with the Pakistanis. Both armies have engaged in daily fighting since Wednesday along the rugged and mountainous Line of Control, which is marked by razor wire coils, watchtowers and bunkers that snake across foothills populated by villages, tangled bushes and forests.They have routinely blamed the other for starting the skirmishes while insisting they were only retaliating.India and Pakistans two top military officials are due to speak again on Monday.____Hussain reported from Srinagar, India. AIJAZ HUSSAIN Hussain is a senior reporter for The Associated Press covering the Kashmir conflict, Indian politics and strategic affairs, and climate. He has worked for the AP for nearly two decades. twitter mailto

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Vatican clerks prepare the loggia ahead of Pope Leo XIV appearance at the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for his first Sunday blessing after his election, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, May 11, 2025.(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)2025-05-11T09:54:52Z VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Leo XIV called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza with the release of hostages and delivery of humanitarian aid in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff. Never again war! Leo said from the loggia of St. Peters Basilica.Recalling the end of World War II 80 years ago, Leo quoted Pope Francis in denouncing the number of conflicts ravaging the globe today, saying it was a third world war in pieces.Leo also recalled that Sunday was Mothers Day in many countries and wished all mothers, including those in heaven a Happy Mothers Day.The crowd, filled with marching bands in town for a special Jubilee weekend, erupted in cheers and music as the bells of St. Peters Basilica tolled.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Leo XIV celebrated a private Mass on Sunday near the tomb of St. Peter, before he was to deliver his first Sunday noon blessing from the loggia of St. Peters Basilica. The Vatican said the pope was joined by the head of his Augustinian order, the Rev. Alejandro Moral Anton. The Mass occurred in the grottoes underneath St. Peters, the traditional burial place of St. Peter, the apostle who is considered the be the first pope. The area, which is normally open to the public, also contains the tombs of past popes, including Pope Benedict XVI. With still an hour to go before Leo was to appear to the public, St. Peters Square was filing up with pilgrims, well-wishers and the curious, joined by multiple marching bands that made grand entrances into the square.Leo on Saturday prayed before the tomb of Pope Francis, located across town at the St. Mary Major Basilica.The 69-year-old Chicago-born missionary was elected 267th pope on Thursday, the first American pope. He appeared to the world from the same loggia, offering a message of peace and unity.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. NICOLE WINFIELD Winfield has been on the Vatican beat since 2001, covering the papacies of St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and the Francis pontificate and traveling the world with them.

Reporters stand outside the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations where talks between U.S. Treasury Secretary, Americas top trade negotiator, and high-ranking Chinese officials are believed to be taking place, in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday, May 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jamey Keaten)2025-05-11T09:30:41Z GENEVA (AP) The U.S. and China on Sunday resumed crucial tariff talks that have put the global economy on edge, but appeared to have diverging views of where the negotiations presently stand. U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on social media that great progress was being made and even suggested a total reset was a possibility as the sides took their seats for the second and final scheduled day of discussions in Geneva. Beijing has yet to comment directly, but its official news agency took a tough approach, saying China will firmly reject any proposal that compromises core principles or undermines the broader cause of global equity. Still, Trump wrote Sunday on social media that great progress was being made. He gave no further details, and officials at the White House also offered little information during and after the opening day of discussions. Two officials speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter confirmed that the talks had resumed on Sunday morning.The discussions could help stabilize world markets roiled by the U.S.-China standoff that has ships in port with goods from China unwilling to unload until they get final word on tariffs. The discussions have been shrouded in secrecy, and neither side made comments to reporters as they left Saturday. In its editorial, Xinhua said, Talks should never be a pretext for continued coercion or extortion, and China will firmly reject any proposal that compromises core principles or undermines the broader cause of global equity. Stay up to date with similar stories by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. Several convoys of black vehicles have been seen coming and going from the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the U.N. delegation in Geneva, which hosted the talks aimed at de-escalating trade tensions between the worlds two biggest economies. Trump last month raised U.S. tariffs on China to a combined 145%, and China retaliated by hitting American imports with a 125% levy. Tariffs that high essentially amount to the countries boycotting each others products, disrupting trade that last year topped $660 billion. Even before talks got underway, Trump suggested Friday that the U.S. could lower its tariffs on China, saying in a Truth Social post that 80% Tariff seems right! Up to Scott! referring to lead negotiator and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.The talks mark the first time the sides have met face-to-face to discuss the issues. And though prospects for a breakthrough are slight, even a small drop in tariffs, particularly if taken simultaneously, would help restore some confidence. Negotiations to begin de-escalating the growing USChina trade war are badly needed and its a positive sign that both sides were able to gracefully move beyond their bickering over who had to call first, Jake Werner, director of the East Asia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said in an email. The tariff fight with China has been the most intense. Trumps tariffs on China include a 20% charge meant to pressure Beijing into doing more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States. The remaining 125% involve a dispute that dates back to Trumps first term and comes atop tariffs he levied on China back then, which means the total tariffs on some Chinese goods can exceed 145%.Chinas trade deficit, which came to a record $263 billion last year, has also been a major target of Trumps complaints. ___Bodeen reported from Taipei, Taiwan. JAMEY KEATEN Keaten is the chief Associated Press reporter in Geneva. He previously was posted in Paris and has reported from Afghanistan, the Middle East, North Africa and across Europe. twitter

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Clerics wave US flags during the speech of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)2025-05-11T11:43:27Z NEW YORK (AP) News that the global Catholic church would get its first-ever U.S.-born pope was welcomed by Catholics across the ideological spectrum in Pope Leo XIV s homeland, raising the question of whether he might be able to ease some of the deep divisions within its ranks.From U.S. Catholics to the left of the ideological center, there is optimism that Leo will carry on Pope Francis outreach to poor and marginalized people, including migrants, and provide a counterweight to policies of the Trump administration that distress them. To the right, there is hope the new pope will faithfully uphold Catholic doctrine, including opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage and womens ordination.One reason for optimism: The new pope has made clear in his remarks and his choice of a motto that unity within the global church will be a paramount priority. In these early days, hes still an empty vessel, said Steven Millies, a public theology professor at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Until we all get to know him better, we can pour our expectations into him.Notre Dame Provost John McGreevy, a historian of Catholicism, said he was completely stunned after the papal announcement, having shared the conventional wisdom that a pope from the U.S. was a near-impossibility. But Leo is a global Catholic citizen, McGreevy said, citing the pontiffs time in Peru, at the Vatican and leading an international religious order.Even though hes an American, and were super proud that hes American, its hard to think of someone more embedded in a lot of the global church, he said. What will Pope Leos relation with U.S. Catholics be?Its too soon to tell what Leos relationship will be with his fellow American prelates and the broader U.S. Catholic Church, McGreevy cautioned.The early indications are that therell be some similarities to Pope Francis, he said suggesting that differences with conservative U.S. bishops could continue.McGreevy said he expects some tension between the Vatican and the White House over immigration and climate change, two of Francis key priorities that are likely to be reaffirmed by Leo.Chad Pecknold, a professor of systematic theology at the Catholic University of America, suggested that Francis either disliked or misunderstood the United States.With Leo XIV, its clear he not only loves America, but he even loves the White Sox, Pecknold said via email. That can only have a good effect, not only upon American Catholics, but also American bishops, and indeed, everyone. Its good to feel like the pope is on your side. During the latter years of Francis papacy, one of the most divisive issues among U.S. bishops was whether Catholic politicians who supported abortion rights including then-President Joe Biden and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should be barred from receiving Communion.Francis stressed he would not reject politicians who support abortion rights and Biden received Communion during a visit to Rome in 2021.San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who barred Pelosi from receiving Communion in the archdiocese, described Leo as a bridge builder. He will be a good force for unity in the church, Cordileone told KPIX-TV in San Francisco. Even with differences of opinion and different ideas of strategy and so forth, we can have unity in the church.U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican and outspoken abortion opponent, took heart from a homily delivered early this year by Leo when he was Cardinal Robert Prevost. The passage cited by Smith: Gods mercy calls us to protect every life, especially those society overlooks the child yet to be born and the elderly nearing their journeys end because each bears Christs face.Smith depicted this remark as underscoring the protection of the right to life as first among the many humanitarian responsibilities of the Church.The interim president of Catholics for Choice, which supports abortion rights, acknowledged that Leo opposes abortion and said the group would send him letters from Catholics who disagree with that stance.We are praying that he will be a pope guided by a commitment to peace, justice, and inclusion, said Chris Wimbush. The future of our church depends on greater inclusion and nuance on reproductive health decisions like abortion, contraception and IVF. Women and the churchFrancis, during his papacy, took major strides to give women more senior leadership positions in the church. But he upheld the ban on female priests and tamped down hopes that women could be ordained as deacons.Ellie Hidalgo of Discerning Deacons, which advocates for women deacons in the church, said she hopes Leo will support the churchs ongoing review of womens participation in ministry. A years-long Vatican process left open the contentious question of whether women should be ordained as deacons.Hidalgo, who lives in Miami, heard then-Cardinal Prevost speak in February when she was in Rome for a celebration of deacons.He was asking deacons to be humble in their service, Hidalgo said. I could tell just from meeting him that thats something he really values himself ... that you are to be of service and youre there in a posture of humility.The U.S.-based Womens Ordination Conference, which advocates for women to be accepted as priests, welcomed the inclusive tone of Leos initial remarks.His clear emphasis on bridge-building and dialogue offer WOC hope that Pope Leo XIV might be a leader who will also build bridges to Catholic women, the groups statement said. It envisioned a long-overdue day when women are recognized as equals in Christ.Called on by Pope FrancisFrancis, in many ways, saw Robert Prevost as a possible successor, assigning him to positions in Peru that bolstered his global resume and later calling him to the Vatican to oversee the influential office that vets bishop nominations.Francis was paying close attention to new U.S bishops, said Millies, the public theology professor. Prevost has been Francis man overseeing the careful selection of a different sort of bishop to fill important posts in the U.S.Millies said the top leadership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops which was sometimes at odds with Francis remains relatively conservative.But in the ranks of bishops below them, the change has already happened, Millies said. They are men who are more pastoral than focused on doctrine. The election of Leo means we are firmly in a different era.Traditionally, the taboo against a U.S. pope reflected reluctance to give the worlds No. 1 superpower even more influence. That shouldnt be a concern with Leo, according to Austen Ivereigh, a British-based journalist and author of two books on the Francis papacy.If anybody thinks he (Leo) is going to take a different line from Francis on migration or climate change, theyre in for a surprise, Ivereigh said. Francis was putting into practice church teaching, and Leo will do the same.There was muted reaction to Leos election from Bishop Robert Strickland, who was ousted by Francis in 2023 from leadership of the Diocese of Tyler in Texas. Strickland had been a fierce critic of Francis and came to symbolize the polarization within the U.S. hierarchy.In social media posts after Leo assumed the papacy, Strickland expressed hope that he would faithfully uphold the sacred Scriptures and traditions known as the Deposit of Faith.With the heavy weight of the papacy now on his shoulders he needs our prayers, Strickland added.___Stanley reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Nicole Winfield in Rome and Peter Smith in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. DAVID CRARY Crary has headed APs 11-person Religion team since 2020. Among previous AP jobs, he was a foreign correspondent for 14 years, and has used that experience to bolster APs worldwide religion coverage. twitter mailto TIFFANY STANLEY Stanley is a reporter and editor on The Associated Press Global Religion team. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter mailto

This image provided by King.com Limited shows the Candy Crush Saga video game. (King.com Limited via AP)2025-05-11T11:25:43Z LOS ANGELES (AP) Players swiping their way through more than 18,700 levels of Candy Crush Saga might be surprised to learn theyre solving puzzles designed with an assist from artificial intelligence.The app that helped make gamers out of anyone with a smartphone uses AI to help developers create levels to serve a captive audience constantly looking for more sweets to squash. King, the Swedish video game developer behind Candy Crush, also uses AI to update older levels to help ensure players dont feel bored, stuck or frustrated as they spend time with the game. Todd Green, general manager of the Candy Crush franchise, said using AI in that way helps free up developers time to create new puzzle boards. It would be extremely difficult, he said, for designers to update and reconfigure more than 18,000 levels without AI taking a first pass. Within the video game industry, discussions around the use of AI in game development run the gamut. Some game makers see AI as a tool that can assist with menial tasks, allowing designers and artists to focus on bigger projects. AI, they say, can help build richer worlds by creating more interactive non-player characters, for example. But there are also those who strongly oppose the use of AI, or who see the tech as a threat to their livelihoods be it as video game actors and performers, or as workers who help make games. Concerns over AI led game performers with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to go on strike in late July.Were not putting chatbots into the game. Were not putting AI-powered design experiences into the game for players directly to play with, Green said, adding that the tech is not being used to replace game workers. Instead, were trying to deploy AI on existing problems that we have in order to make the work of the teams faster or more accurate, and more accurate more quickly. In the United States, consumer spending on video game content increased to $51.3 billion in 2024, up from $49.8 billion in 2023, with mobile games accounting for about half of all video game content spending, according to data from the Entertainment Software Association trade group. Mobile is now the leading game platform among players aged 8 and older, the ESA says. Candy Crush first launched on Facebook in 2012 is constantly updating. King recently released its 300th client version of the game. Gaming giant Activision Blizzard acquired King in 2016 for $5.9 billion. The free-to-play game is in a unique position, said Joost Van Dreunen, author of One Up: Creativity, Competition, and the Global Business of Video Games. Candy Crush is more than a decade old, boasts millions of users and caters to a ravenous set of players, he said. Demand is so high for new content that it makes sense to use AI to offset the work it takes to create so many levels, Van Dreunen added.To supply that at scale, you absolutely can rely on a sort of artificial intelligence or generative AI to create the next set of forms, he said. The thing about Candy Crush is that every level is technically a single board that you have to solve or clear before you can advance. With AI and the existing library of human-made boards, it makes total sense to then accelerate and expand the efforts to just create more inventory. People play more levels. King uses AI to target two separate areas: developing new levels and going back to older levels, in some cases, puzzles that are several years old, and reworking them to ensure theyre still worth playing. On new levels designed for people who have played the game for a long time, the company wants to ensure the puzzles are fun on first contact. Thats hard for us to do, because we dont get the benefit of having many players test or play through the levels and give us feedback. We have to sort of try and pitch it right at first, he said. Theres a really important group for us in between people who maybe played before and perhaps took a break for a while, and then coming back because they saw or heard of or were curious about what might be new. Green said King uses AI as a behind-the-scenes assistant in the design loop of the game, rather than as a tool that immediately puts something new in front of players. Doing that for 1,000 levels all at once is very difficult by hand, he said. So the most important thing to understand here is that we are using AI as like a custom design.For most players, Green said, the fun in solving the puzzles lies in the up and down. Levels arent designed in order of difficulty. An easy level can follow a few difficult levels or vice versa to give the game a sense of variety. Leveraging AI means that instead of the team working on several hundred levels each week, they could potentially improve thousands of levels per week because theyre able to automate the drafting of the improved levels, he added. We talk to players all the time, he said. We also get the quantitative feedback. We can see how players respond to the levels... How easy are the levels? Do they get sort of stuck, or are they progressing in the way that we hope?To determine whether gamers and playing through the way the designers intended, King looks at several factors, including pass rate how many times a player passes a level out of every 100 attempts and how often a board is reshuffled, or refreshed with all candies rearranged. Some metrics are also intangible, like whether a level is simply fun. Its also, to some extent, obviously subjective, Green said. Its different for different people. SARAH PARVINI Parvini covers artificial intelligence for The Associated Press. She is based in Los Angeles. mailto

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